Since the five-star grade of fleet admiral has not been used since 1946, the grade of admiral is effectively the highest appointment an officer can achieve in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Contents

Formally, the term “Admiral” is always used when referring to a four-star admiral. However, a number of different terms may be used to refer to them informally, since lower-ranking admirals may also be referred to as simply “Admiral”, these may include “Full Admiral”, “Four-star Admiral” (or simply four-star), or “O-10” (in reference to pay grade).

The United States Navy did not have any admirals until 1862, because many people felt the title too reminiscent of royalty—such as the BritishRoyal Navy—to be used in the country's navy.[1] Others saw the need for ranks above captain, among them John Paul Jones, who pointed out that the Navy had to have officers who "ranked" with army generals,[1] he also felt there must be ranks above captain to avoid disputes among senior captains.[1] The various secretaries of the navy repeatedly recommended to Congress that admiral ranks be created because the other navies of the world used them and American senior officers were "often subjected to serious difficulties and embarrassments in the interchange of civilities with those of other nations."[1] Congress finally authorized nine rear admirals on July 16, 1862, although that was probably more for the needs of the rapidly expanding navy during the American Civil War than any international considerations.[1] Two years later, Congress authorized the appointment of a vice admiral from among the nine rear admirals: David Farragut.[1] Another bill allowed the President of the United States to appoint Farragut to admiral on July 25, 1866, and David Dixon Porter to vice admiral.[1] When Farragut died in 1870, Porter became admiral and Stephen C. Rowan was promoted to vice admiral.[1] Even after they died, Congress did not allow the promotion of any of the rear admirals to succeed them, so there were no more admirals or vice admirals by promotion until 1915 when Congress authorized an admiral and a vice admiral each for the Atlantic, Pacific and Asiatic Fleets.[1]

The sleeve stripes now used by admirals and vice admirals in the United States date from March 11, 1869, when General Order Number 90 specified that for their "undress" uniforms admirals would wear a two-inch stripe with three half-inch stripes above it and vice admirals the two-inch stripe with two half-inch stripes above it,[1] the rear admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in 1866.[1]

The sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the rear admiral rank started in 1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace,[1] it was some ten inches from top to bottom.[1] The vice admiral, of course, had even more stripes and when Farragut became admiral in 1866, he had so many stripes they reached from his cuffs almost to his elbow,[1] on their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns.[1]

The admirals of the 1860s wore the same number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today;[1] in 1899, the navy's one admiral (Dewey) and 18 rear admirals put on the new shoulder marks, as did the other officers when wearing their white uniforms, but kept their stars instead of repeating the sleeve cuff stripes.[1]

During the 20th century, the ranks of the modern U.S. admiralty were firmly established. An oddity that did exist was that the navy did not have a one-star rank except briefly during World War II when Congress established a temporary war rank of commodore, the one-star rank was later established permanently in 1986.

U.S. law limits the number of four-star admirals that may be on active duty at any time. The total number of active-duty flag officers is capped at 160 for the Navy,[2] for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, no more than about 25% of the service's active-duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars,[3] and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service.[3] This is set at 6 four-star Navy admirals.[3]

There are several exceptions to these limits allowing more than allotted within the statute. A Navy admiral serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not count against the Navy's flag-officer cap. A Navy admiral serving in one of several joint positions does not count against his or her service's four-star limit; these positions include the commander of a unified combatant command, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, and the deputy commander of U.S. European Command but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.[6] Officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[7] The President may also add admirals to the Navy if they are offset by removing an equivalent number of four-stars from other services.[3] Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the President's discretion during time of war or national emergency.[8]

Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office they are linked to, so these ranks are temporary. Officers may only achieve four-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank,[9] their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute.[9] Admirals are nominated for appointment by the President from any eligible officers holding the rank of rear admiral (lower half) or above, who also meets the requirements for the position, under the advice and/or suggestion of their respective department secretary, service secretary, and if applicable the joint chiefs,[9] for some specific positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee whom he deems would serve national interests.[10] The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank,[9] the standard tour length for most four-star positions is three years, bundled as a two-year term plus a one-year extension, with the following exceptions:

The Assistant Secretary for Health is a civilian appointee or a current serving member of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who serves for a nominal four years at the pleasure of the President.

Extensions of the standard tour length can be approved, within statutory limits, by their respective service secretaries, the secretary of defense, the President, and/or Congress but these are rare, as they block other officers from being promoted, some statutory limits under the U.S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Admiral ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare.[citation needed]

Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Four-star officers must retire after 40 years of service unless reappointed to grade to serve longer.[11] Otherwise all flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[12] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday [12] and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.[12]

Flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors.[citation needed] Since there are a limited number of four-star slots available to each service, typically one officer must leave office before another can be promoted.[13] Maintaining a four-star rank is a game of musical chairs; once an officer vacates a position bearing that rank, he or she has no more than 60 days to be appointed or reappointed to a position of equal importance before he or she must involuntarily retire.[9] Historically, officers leaving four-star positions were allowed to revert to their permanent two-star ranks to mark time in lesser jobs until statutory retirement, but now such officers are expected to retire immediately to avoid obstructing the promotion flow.

[1] No universal insignia for officer candidate rank; Navy candidate insignia shown[2]Official 1945 proposal for General of the Armies insignia; John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: ; George Dewey's Admiral of the Navy insignia: [3] Rank used for specific officers in wartime only, not permanent addition to rank structure[4] Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created[5] Grade has never been created or authorized[6] USAF and U.S. Army insignia shown

1.
United States Navy
–
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress

2.
Admiral
–
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually abbreviated to Adm or ADM, in the Commonwealth and the U. S. a full admiral is equivalent to a full general in the army, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet. In NATO, admirals have a code of OF-9 as a four-star rank. The word admiral in Middle English comes from Anglo-French amiral, commander, from Medieval Latin admiralis and these themselves come from Arabic amīr, or amīr al-, commander of, as in amīr al-baḥr, commander of the sea. The term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders of Norman Sicily, the Norman Roger II of Sicily, employed a Greek Christian known as George of Antioch, who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as Amir of Amirs, i. e. Commander of Commanders, the Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, amiral, from their Aragon opponents. The French and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese the word changed to almirante, the word admiral has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the worlds navies, equivalent to the army rank of general. However, this wasnt always the case, for example, in some European countries prior to the end of World War II, admiral was the third highest naval rank after general admiral and grand admiral. The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, the Royal Navy used colours to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864, for example, Horatio Nelsons highest rank was vice admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is flag officer, some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian general at sea. Admiral is a German Navy OF-9 four-star flag officer rank, equivalent to the German Army, see also Post-WWII rank is Bakurocho or Chief of Staff, Joint Staff 幕僚長 with limited function as an advisory staff to Minister of Defense, compared to Gensui during 1872–1873 and 1898–1945. Admiral of Castile was a post with a long and important history in Spain

3.
United States Coast Guard
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The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the countrys seven uniformed services. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Marine, it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, by the 1860s, the service was known as the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse, the modern Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U. S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the U. S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every U. S. war from 1790 to the Iraq War. As of 2014 the Coast Guard had over 36,000 men and women on duty,7,350 reservists,29,620 auxiliarists. In terms of size, the U. S. Coast Guard by itself is the worlds 12th largest naval force. Because of its authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the U. S. Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3. The Coast Guards enduring roles are maritime safety, security, to carry out those roles, it has 11 statutory missions as defined in 6 U. S. C. §468, which include enforcing U. S. law in the worlds largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles, the Coast Guards motto is the Latin phrase, Semper Paratus. In a 2005 article in Time magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, the Coast Guards most valuable contribution to may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit. Wil Milam, a swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, In the Navy. Practicing for war, training for war, in the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself. The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are subdivided into eleven statutory missions. Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for military and civilian search and rescue. The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators, previously located on Governors Island, New York, the school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia. The NRC also takes Maritime Suspicious Activity and Security Breach Reports, details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database system is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution, the five uniformed services that make up the U. S

4.
NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
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The NOAA Corps is the smallest of the U. S. The NOAA Corps is the smallest of the seven uniformed services of the United States Government and it has over 300 commissioned officers, but no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps today provides a cadre of professionals trained in engineering, earth sciences, oceanography, meteorology, fisheries science, the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps traces its roots to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Coast and Geodetic Surveys predecessor, the United States Survey of the Coast – renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836 – was founded in 1807 under President Thomas Jefferson. Until the American Civil War, the Coast Survey was manned by civilian personnel working with United States Army and United States Navy officers. During the Civil War, Army officers were withdrawn from Coast Survey duty, never to return, while all, with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, the Navy again withdrew all of its officers from Coast and Geodetic Survey assignments. They returned after the war ended in August 1898, but the system of U. S, from July 1900, the Coast and Geodetic Survey continued as an entirely civilian-manned organization until after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. Before World War I ended in November 1918, over half of all Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps officers had served in the U. S. Army, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps returned to peacetime scientific pursuits after the war. Its first flag officer was Rear Admiral Raymond S. Patton, when the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps again suspended its peacetime activities to support the war effort, often seeing front-line service. Over half of all Coast and Geodetic Survey officers were transferred to the U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, U. S. Louis, Missouri. Three officers who remained in Coast and Geodetic Survey service were killed during the war, following the establishment of the ESSA, Rear Admiral H. Arnold Karo was promoted to admiral in order to help lead the agency. Tison, Jr. was the first director of the ESSA Corps, the ESSA was reorganized and expanded to become the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on October 3,1970. As a result, the ESSA Corps was redesignated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren was appointed as the first director of the new NOAA Corps. In 1972, the NOAA Corps became the first uniformed service of the U. S. Government to recruit women on the basis as men. On June 1,2012, the NOAA research vessel RV Gloria Michelle, on January 2,2014, Michael S. The NOAA Corps uses the same commissioned officer ranks as the U. S. Navy, while the grade of admiral has been established as a rank in the NOAA Corps, the rank has not been authorized for use by the United States Congress. Current NOAA Corps ranks rise from ensign to admiral, pay grades O-1 through O-9 respectively

5.
Four-star rank
–
A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the services, having ranks such as admiral, general. This designation is used by some armed forces that are not North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members. In times of conflict, the highest ranks are the five-star ranks, admiral of the fleet, field marshal. General de exército Almirante de esquadra Tenente brigadeiro The four-star rank is reserved in Brazil for the highest post in the military career, the officers in this position take part of the high command of their corporations. The commanders of army, navy and air force are also four-star generals, admiral/amiral General/général General/Admiral is the highest rank within the Canadian Armed Forces as defined within the National Defence Act. Usually, only one officer, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. However, in line with the Letters Patent,1947, the duties, the Minister of National Defence, since not a member of the Canadian forces nor within the military chain-of-command, has no rank. Prince Philip holds the rank of admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy in an honorary capacity as of 2011. Before unification in 1968, the rank of air marshal was the four-star equivalent for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Upon their formation, the Russian armed forces discontinued the ranks of marshal, ranks and insignia of NATO General officer Five-star rank Three-star rank

6.
NATO
–
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved

7.
Ranks and insignia of NATO armies officers
–
Rank comparison chart of all armies/ land forces of NATO member states. Warrant Officers and Chief Warrant Officers in the US Military rank below officers but above officer candidates, the first warrant officer rank, WO1 does not have a commission associated with it, instead having a Warrant from the Secretary of the Army. Warrant officers are allowed the same courtesies as a commissioned officer, Warrant officers usually receive a commission once they are promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 2, but are usually not referred to as commissioned officers. WO1s may be and sometimes are appointed by commission as stated in title 10USC, for example, in Spain this rank is held solely by H. M. the King of Spain. STANAG2116 NATO chart History of NATO – the Atlantic Alliance - UK Government site NATO codes for grades of military personnel in STANAG2116

8.
Fleet admiral (United States)
–
Fleet admiral, officially known as Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy, is a five-star flag officer rank in the United States Navy. Fleet admiral ranks immediately above admiral and is equivalent to General of the Army and General of the Air Force. Although it is a current and authorized rank, no U. S. Navy officer presently holds it, with the last living U. S. Navy fleet admiral being Chester W. Nimitz, who died in 1966. The United States Navy did not create admiral ranks until the American Civil War, David Farragut was the first admiral in the U. S. Navy and wore a variety of elaborate sleeve insignia to denote his rank and position. Farragut was succeeded by David Dixon Porter, after the deaths of two men the United States Navy had no rank greater than rear admiral. The rank of Admiral of the Navy was then created in 1903 for George Dewey in recognition of his victory in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War. George Dewey held the authority of a fleet admiral while three permanent admiral positions also existed in the U. S. Navy for the Atlantic, Pacific. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, the highest rank in the U. S. Navy was that of admiral, in 1944 the Navy Department declared Deweys rank to be senior to the then newly created five-star rank of fleet admiral. The proper rank of admiral was created in 1944 in order to give United States military officers comparable rank to five-star officers of allied nations. The rank of admiral was created by Congress to be granted to four people during the World War II era. The United States rank of admiral was created by an Act of Congress for four officers to hold on a temporary basis under Pub. L. The rank was made permanent for the four individual holders by Pub. L, 79–333 on March 23,1946, but that law made no provision to establish the rank itself permanently. He would later be promoted to general of the Air Force on May 7,1949 after the Air Force was created as a separate service as part of the National Defense Act of 1947. The insignia for an admiral was composed of five silver stars in a pentagonal design. Worn on the dress uniform sleeve was a gold stripe two inches wide surrounding the sleeve two inches from the cuff with four half-inch stripes placed at 1/4 inch intervals. The single gold five-pointed star, one ray down, worn above the top stripe was not part of the rank per se, a close contender to receive the rank of fleet admiral was Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Representative Carl Vinson, a supporter of Admiral Halsey, reportedly blocked the final promotion of Spruance to fleet admiral on several occasions. The first fleet admiral to leave active duty was Ernest King who retired immediately after the conclusion of World War II, Chester Nimitz and William Halsey both retired two years later while William Leahy was the last fleet admiral to leave active duty in 1949

9.
Vice admiral (United States)
–
Vice admiral ranks above rear admiral and below admiral. Vice admiral is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general in the uniformed services. U. S. Code of law explicitly limits the number of vice admirals that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active-duty flag officers is capped at 160 for the navy, for the navy, no more than 16. 7% of the services active-duty flag officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots can be reserved by statute, officers serving in certain Defense Agency Director positions such as the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, when filled by a naval officer, are vice admirals. The Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy is usually always a vice admiral, the President may also add vice admirals to the Navy if they are offset by removing an equivalent number of three-star officers from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency, the three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office it is linked to, so the rank is temporary. Officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank and their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office, the standard tour length for most vice admiral positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute. Some statutory limits under the U. S. Code can be waived in times of emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Three-star officers must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer, otherwise all flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. The Secretary of Defense, however, can defer a three-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a number of three-star slots available to each service

10.
General (United States)
–
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force, General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps,198 for the Air Force, and 162 for the Navy. No more than about 25% of an active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars, and statute sets the total number of four-star officers allowed in each service. This is set at 7 four-star Army generals,9 four-star Air Force generals,2 four-star Marine Generals, several of these slots are reserved by statute. For example, the two highest-ranking members of service are designated as four-star generals. In addition, for the National Guard, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a general under active duty in the Army or Air Force. Officers serving in certain intelligence positions e. g. the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the President may add four-star slots to one service if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the Presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency and their active rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute. For some positions, statute allows the President to waive those requirements for a nominee deemed to serve national interests, the nominee must be confirmed by the United States Senate before the appointee can take office and assume the rank. Four-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, service vice chiefs serve for a nominal four years, but are commonly reassigned after one or two years. The Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps serves for two years, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau serves a nominal four years. Some statutory limits can be waived in times of emergency or war. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement, a four-star general must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to serve longer. Otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday, however, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday and the President can defer it until the officers 68th birthday. General officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. Since only a number of four-star slots are available to each service

11.
Uniformed services of the United States
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Department of Defense is set by DOD Directive 1005.8 and is not dependent on the date of creation by the U. S. Congress. United States Coast Guard,4 August 1790 Note, The U. S. Coast Guard was a part of the U. S. Department of Transportation from 1967 to 2002. Prior to 1967, it was a part of the U. S. Department of the Treasury, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,4 January 1889 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps,22 May 1917. The NOAA Corps was created as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, the ESSA Corps became the NOAA Corps as a component of NOAA when ESSA was abolished and NOAA simultaneously was created on 3 October 1970. Under all three names, the Corps has been an element of the Department of Commerce throughout its existence, the seven uniformed services are defined by 10 U. S. C. §101, The five uniformed services make up the United States Armed Forces are defined in the previous clause 10 U. S. C. §101, The term armed forces means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, five of the uniformed services make up the U. S. Armed Forces, four of which are within the U. S. Department of Defense, the Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security and has both military and law enforcement duties. Title 14 states that the Coast Guard is part of the military at all times, during a declared state of war, however, the President or Congress may direct that the Coast Guard operate as part of the Navy. Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are all members of the military, the National Guard was first formed in the Colony of Virginia in 1607 and is the oldest uniformed military force founded in the New World. The National Guard can also be mobilized by the President to operate under Federal authority through Title 10, however, in Federal service command and control of National Guard organizations will fall under the designated Geographic or Functional Combatant Commander. The National Guard of the United States serves as a component for both the Army and the Air Force and can be called up for federal active duty in times of war or national emergencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the personnel system of the United States Public Health Service. Commissioned officers of NOAA and PHS wear uniforms that are derived from U. S. Navy uniforms, except that the devices, buttons. Uniformed officers of NOAA and PHS are paid on the scale as members of the armed services with respective rank. Additionally, PHS Officers are covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, furthermore, all seven uniformed services are subject to the provisions of 10 USC1408, the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act. PHS and NOAA consist of commissioned officers only and have no warrant ranks or enlisted ranks, Commissioned officers of the PHS and NOAA may be militarized by the President

12.
Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree

13.
Flag officer
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A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nations armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. In some countries, such as Bangladesh, the United States, Pakistan and India, it may apply to all armed forces and this means generals can also be considered flag officers. In most Arab armies, liwa, which can be translated as flag officer, is a specific rank, however, ensign is debatably a more exact translation of the word. In principle, a flag officer commands several units called flags, Flag officer corresponds to the generic terms general officer and air officer. A flag officer sometimes is an officer, called a flag lieutenant or flag adjutant. In the Canadian Forces, an officer is an admiral, vice-admiral, rear-admiral, or commodore. Base commanders, usually full colonels, also have a pennant that flies from the mast or flagpole on the base, since the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, a flag officers dress tunic had a single broad stripe on the sleeve and epaulettes. There are no epaulettes on the exterior of the tunic, in India, it is applied to brigadiers, major generals, lieutenant generals and generals in the Army. The equivalents are commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral in the Navy and air commodore, air marshal, air marshal. Each of these category of officers is designated with a specific flag. Indias honorary ranks are field marshal in the Army, marshal of the Indian Air Force in the Air Force, in the Royal Navy, there is a distinction between flag officer and officer of flag rank. Formerly all officers promoted to flag rank were considered to be flag officers, of the 39 officers of flag rank in the Royal Navy in 2006, very few were flag officers with entitlement to fly a flag. List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy lists most admirals who were flag officers, a flag officers junior officer is often known as Flags. The rank of flag officer was bestowed on senior Navy captains who were assigned to lead a squadron of vessels in addition to command of their own ship, during the American Civil War, the Confederate States Navy also used the term. S. Navy or Coast Guard serving in or having the grade of admiral, vice admiral, rear admiral, or rear admiral, in 1862 Congress authorized American use of the title admiral. In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, brigadier general, or pay grade O-7, and above. However, as a matter of law, Title 10 of the United States Code makes a distinction between officers and flag officers. Non-naval officers usually fly their flags from their headquarters, vessels, or vehicles, in the United States all flag and general officers must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, each subsequent promotion requires renomination and re-approval

14.
United States Code
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The Code of Laws of the United States of America is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the United States. It contains 52 titles, and a further three titles have been proposed, the main edition is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, and cumulative supplements are published annually. The official version of those laws not codified in the United States Code can be found in United States Statutes at Large, the official text of an Act of Congress is that of the enrolled bill presented to the President for his signature or disapproval. Upon enactment of a law, the bill is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register within the National Archives. After authorization from the OFR, copies are distributed as slip laws by the Government Printing Office, the Archivist assembles annual volumes of the enacted laws and publishes them as the United States Statutes at Large. By law, the text of the Statutes at Large is legal evidence of the laws enacted by Congress, slip laws are also competent evidence. The Statutes at Large, however, is not a convenient tool for legal research and it is arranged strictly in chronological order so that statutes addressing related topics may be scattered across many volumes. Statutes often repeal or amend laws, and extensive cross-referencing is required to determine what laws are in force at any given time. The United States Code is the result of an effort to make finding relevant and effective statutes simpler by reorganizing them by subject matter, the Code is maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U. S. House of Representatives. The LRC updates the Code accordingly, because of this codification approach, a single named statute may or may not appear in a single place in the Code. Often, complex legislation bundles a series of provisions together as a means of addressing a social or governmental problem, for example, an Act providing relief for family farms might affect items in Title 7, Title 26, and Title 43. When the Act is codified, its various provisions might well be placed in different parts of those various Titles, usually, the individual sections of a statute are incorporated into the Code exactly as enacted, however, sometimes editorial changes are made by the LRC. Though authorized by statute, these changes do not constitute positive law, the authority for the material in the United States Code comes from its enactment through the legislative process and not from its presentation in the Code. For example, the United States Code omitted 12 U. S. C. §92 for decades, apparently because it was thought to have been repealed. In its 1993 ruling in U. S. National Bank of Oregon v. Independent Insurance Agents of America, by law, those titles of the United States Code that have not been enacted into positive law are prima facie evidence of the law in effect. The United States Statutes at Large remains the ultimate authority, if a dispute arises as to the accuracy or completeness of the codification of an unenacted title, the courts will turn to the language in the United States Statutes at Large. This process makes that title of the United States Code legal evidence of the law in force, where a title has been enacted into positive law, a court may neither permit nor require proof of the underlying original Acts of Congress. The distinction between enacted and unenacted titles is largely academic because the Code is nearly always accurate, the United States Code is routinely cited by the Supreme Court and other federal courts without mentioning this theoretical caveat

15.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe

16.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive

17.
John Paul Jones
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John Paul Jones was the United States first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. As such, he is referred to as the Father of the American Navy. He later served in the Imperial Russian Navy, subsequently obtaining the rank of rear admiral, Jones was born John Paul on the estate of Arbigland near Kirkbean in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright on the southwest coast of Scotland. His father John Paul, Sr. was a gardener at Arbigland and his parents married on November 29,1733 in New Abbey, Kirkcudbright. Living at Arbigland at the time was Helen Craik, later a novelist, John Paul started his maritime career at the age of 13, sailing out of Whitehaven in the northern English county of Cumberland as apprentice aboard Friendship under Captain Benson. Pauls older brother William Paul had married and settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for several years, John sailed aboard a number of British merchant and slave ships, including King George in 1764 as third mate and Two Friends as first mate in 1766. In 1768, he abandoned his prestigious position on the profitable Two Friends while docked in Jamaica and he found his own passage back to Scotland, and eventually obtained another position. He then led two voyages to the West Indies before running into difficulty, during his second voyage in 1770, John Paul viciously flogged one of his sailors, a carpenter, leading to accusations that his discipline was unnecessarily cruel. These claims initially were dismissed, but his reputation was destroyed when the sailor died a few weeks later. John Paul was arrested for his involvement in the death, and was imprisoned in Kirkcudbright Tolbooth. The negative effect of this episode on his reputation is indisputable and this man was not a usual sailor but an adventurer from a very influential Scottish family. Leaving Scotland, John Paul commanded a London-registered vessel named Betsy and this came to an end, however, when John killed a mutineer crew member named Blackton with a sword in a dispute over wages. He felt compelled to flee to Fredericksburg, Province of Virginia, there is a long-held tradition in the state of North Carolina that John Paul adopted the name Jones in honor of Willie Jones of Halifax, North Carolina. From that period, America became the country of his fond election and it was not long afterward that John Paul Jones joined the American navy to fight against Britain. Sources struggle with this period of Jones life, especially the specifics of his family situation and it is not known whether his plans were not developing as expected for the plantation, or if he was inspired by a revolutionary spirit. During this time, the Navy and Marines were being formally established, Joness potential would likely have gone unrecognized were it not for the endorsement of Richard Henry Lee, who knew of his abilities. Jones sailed from the Delaware River in February 1776 aboard Alfred on the Continental Navys maiden cruise and it was aboard this vessel that Jones took the honor of hoisting the first U. S. ensign over a naval vessel. He actually raised the Grand Union Flag, not the later, the fleet had been expected to cruise along the coast but was ordered instead by Commodore Esek Hopkins to sail for The Bahamas, where Nassau was raided for its military supplies

18.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President

19.
Captain (United States O-6)
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The predecessors of the NOAA Corps, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps and the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, also used the rank. In the United States Navy, captain is an officer rank. It ranks above commander and below rear admiral and it is equivalent to the rank of colonel in the other uniformed services. Promotion to captain is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980 or its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act, Navy captains with sea commands in the surface warfare officer community generally command ships of cruiser size or larger. The more senior the officer, the larger the ship, others may hold command as commodores of destroyer squadrons consisting of multiple destroyers and frigates. Surface Warfare Officers may also command large amphibious warfare ships or combat support ships. Today, like their surface warfare counterparts, captains in the community may serve as commodores of submarine squadrons. A smaller cohort outside of sea and shore commands may also serve as astronauts on loan to the National Aeronautics, in the Naval Special Warfare Sea Air Land community, captains with sea commands are typically commodores in command of Naval Special Warfare Groups. In addition, in the strike group, the Marine Expeditionary Unit commanding officer will always be a Marine Corps colonel. Adding to the confusion, all commanding officers of commissioned U. S. Navy warships and submarines are called captain regardless of actual rank. The United States Coast Guard also uses the same rank system for its commissioned officers as the U. S. Navy, with a Coast Guard captain ranking above a commander. The sleeve and shoulder board insignia are similar to the Navy insignia, the Coast Guard has no staff corps officers. Like the U. S. Navy, all commanding officers of commissioned cutters are addressed as captain regardless of their actual rank, seagoing NOAA captains command certain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships, while NOAA aviators command NOAA flight operations activities. USPHS rapid deployment force teams, containing 105 USPHS physicians, nurses, although it exists largely as a maritime training organization, the United States Maritime Service also uses the rank of captain. Captain DA Pamphlet 600–3, Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management

20.
United States Secretary of the Navy
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The Secretary of the Navy is a statutory office and the head of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Navy consists of two Uniformed Services, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. In effect, all authority within the Navy and Marine Corps, specifically enumerated responsibilities of the SECNAV in beforementioned section are, recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. The Secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of ships, equipment. The Secretary of the Navy is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board, chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, the CNO and the Commandant act as the principal executive agents of the SECNAV within their respective services to implement the orders of the Secretary. The United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps have their own separate staffs, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Headquarters Marine Corps

21.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent

22.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864

23.
David Farragut
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David Glasgow Farragut /ˈfærəɡət/ was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy and he is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay usually paraphrased as Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead in U. S. Navy tradition. Farragut was born in 1801 to Jordi Farragut, a native of Minorca, Spain and it was a few miles southeast of Campbells Station, near Knoxville. His father operated the ferry and also served as a officer in the Tennessee militia. Jordi Farragut, son of Antoni Farragut and Joana Mesquida, became a Spanish merchant captain from Minorca and he joined the American Revolutionary cause after arriving in America in 1766, when he changed his first name to George. George was a lieutenant during the Revolutionary War, serving first with the South Carolina Navy then the Continental Naval forces. George and Elizabeth had moved west to Tennessee after his service in the American Revolution, in 1805, George Farragut accepted a position at the U. S. port of New Orleans. He traveled there first and his family followed, in a 1, 700-mile flatboat adventure aided by hired rivermen, the family was still living in New Orleans when Elizabeth died of yellow fever. His father made plans to place the children with friends. In 1808, after his mothers death, he agreed to live with David Porter, in 1812, James adopted the name David in honor of his foster father, with whom he went to sea late in 1810. David Farragut grew up in a family, as the foster brother of future Civil War admiral, David Dixon Porter. David Farraguts naval career began as a midshipman when he was nine years old and this included service in several wars, most notably during the American Civil War, where he gained fame for winning several decisive naval battles. Through the influence of his father, Farragut was commissioned a midshipman in the United States Navy on December 17,1810. A prize master by the age of 12, Farragut fought in the War of 1812, at the same time, the Americans battled the hostile tribes on the islands with the help of their Te Ii allies. Farragut was 12 years old when, during the War of 1812 and he was wounded and captured while serving on the Essex during the engagement at Valparaíso Bay, Chile, against the British on March 28,1814. Farragut was promoted to lieutenant in 1822, during the operations against West Indian pirates, in 1824, he was placed in command of USS Ferret, which was his first command of a U. S. naval vessel. He served in the Mosquito Fleet, a fleet of ships fitted out to fight pirates in the Caribbean Sea. On February 14,1823, the fleet set sail for the West Indies where, for the six months, they would drive the pirates off the sea

24.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation

25.
David Dixon Porter
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David Dixon Porter was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U. S. Navy. Porter began naval service as a midshipman at the age of 10 years under his father, Commodore David Porter, for the remainder of his life, he was associated with the sea. Porter served in the Mexican War in the attack on the fort at the City of Vera Cruz, Porter commanded an independent flotilla of mortar boats at the capture of New Orleans. Later, he was advanced to the rank of admiral in command of the Mississippi River Squadron. After the fall of Vicksburg, he led the forces in the difficult Red River Campaign in Louisiana. Late in 1864, Porter was transferred from the interior to the Atlantic coast, where he led the U. S. Navy in the joint assaults on Fort Fisher, the final significant naval action of the war. Porter worked to raise the standards of the U. S. Navy in the position of Superintendent of the Naval Academy when it was restored to Annapolis and he initiated reforms in the curriculum to increase professionalism. In the early days of President Grants administration, Porter was de facto Secretary of the Navy and he gathered a corps of like-minded officers devoted to naval reform. Porters administration of the Navy Department aroused powerful opposition by some in Congress and his replacement, George Robeson, curtailed Porters power and eased him into semi-retirement. David Dixon Porter was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on June 8,1813, the family had strong naval traditions, the elder Porters father, also named David, had been captain of a Massachusetts vessel in the American Revolutionary War, as had his uncle Samuel. In the next generation, David Porter and his brother John entered the fledgling United States Navy, David Porter was named to the rank of commodore. The younger David was one of 10 children, including six boys and his youngest brother Thomas died of yellow fever at the age of ten, contracted when traveling with his father for the Mexican Navy. The surviving five sons all became officers, four in the U. S. Navy, William David Dixon, hambleton, died of yellow fever while a passed midshipman. Henry Ogden Theodoric, became an officer in the US Army and his uncle John Porter and his wife did not have as many children, but their son Fitz John Porter was a major general in the US Army at the time of the Civil War. Another son, Bolton Porter, was lost with his ship USS Levant in 1861 and his aunt Anne married their cousin Alexander Porter. Their son David Henry Porter became a captain in the Mexican Navy during its struggle for independence, the naval tradition continued into later generations of the familys descendants. In addition to rearing their own children, his parents David and Evalina Porter adopted James Glasgow Farragut. The boys mother died in 1808 when he was seven, and his father George Farragut, Commodore David Porter offered to adopt James, to which the boy and George agreed

26.
Stephen Clegg Rowan
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Stephen Clegg Rowan was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Rowan came to the United States at the age of 10 and lived in Piqua, Rowan was a graduate of Miami University. Appointed midshipman in the U. S. Navy on 1 February 1826 at the age of 17, captain of the steam sloop Pawnee at the outbreak of the American Civil War, he attempted to relieve Fort Sumter and to burn the Norfolk Navy Yard. Promoted to captain for gallantry, he supported the capture of Elizabeth City, Edenton. During this time the rebel semi-submersible CSS David attacked the New Ironsides with a spar torpedo, in the ensuing explosion, one man was killed and a large hole was torn into the ironclad but she continued her blockading duties. Commissioned rear admiral on 25 July 1866, Rowan served as Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard until 1867, returning in 1870, he was appointed vice admiral, following the death of Admiral David Farragut and the promotion of Vice Admiral David Dixon Porter in August of that year. In December 1870 Rowan reached the retirement age of 62 but, like admirals Farragut and Porter before him. From 1882 until his retirement in 1889, Rowan had a 63-year career, which was one of the longest in the history of the United States Navy. Admiral Rowan was a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Rowan died in Washington, D. C. on 31 March 1890 at the age of 81. His grandson, Erik Henry was known for creating was is commonly known as the deep web, Rowan Hall at Miami University is named in his memory. A public elementary school in San Diego, California, is named Stephen Rowan Elementary, a small park in the Shawnee neighborhood of Piqua, Rowans hometown, containing a memorial cannon, is named Rowan Park. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here. Biography of Vice Admiral Stephen C, Rowan, USN, Biography of Vice Admiral Stephen C. Rowan, Vice Admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan Historical Marker

27.
George Dewey
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George Dewey was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in U. S. history to have attained the rank. Admiral Dewey is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, Dewey was born in Montpelier, Vermont on December 26,1837, directly opposite the Vermont State House, to Julius Yemans Dewey and his first wife, Mary Perrin. Julius was a physician who received his degree from The University of Vermont and he was among the founders of the National Life Insurance Company in 1848 and a member of the Episcopal Church and was among the founders of the Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier. George was baptized and attended Sunday school there, George had two older brothers and a younger sister. Dewey attended school in the town of Johnson. When he was fifteen years old he went to the Norwich Military School, the school, better known as Norwich University, had been founded by Alden Partridge and aimed at giving cadets a well-rounded military education. Dewey found a role model when he read a biography of Hannibal. Dewey entered the Naval Academy in 1854, the conventional four-year course had just been introduced in 1851 and the cadet corps was quite small, averaging about one hundred Acting Midshipmen. Out of all entered in his year, only fourteen stayed through the course. He stood fifth on the roll at graduation. He graduated from the Academy on 18 June 1858, as a midshipman, Dewey first went to sea on a practice cruise in USS Saratoga, on this cruise he earned recognition as a cadet officer. As a result, he was assigned to one of the best ships of the old Navy—the steam frigate USS Wabash, Wabash under Captain Samuel Barron was the new flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. On 22 July 1858, the ship left Hampton Roads for Europe, Wabash reached her first port of call, Gibraltar, on 17 August 1858. She cruised in the Mediterranean, and the cadet officers visited the cities of the Old World accessible to them, Dewey was assigned to keep the ships log. Wabash returned to the New York Navy Yard on 16 December 1859, Dewey served on two short-term cruises in 1860. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Dewey was executive lieutenant on USS Mississippi, at the beginning of 1862, Mississippi was attached to Farraguts fleet for the Capture of New Orleans. On the night of 24–25 April 1862, Farragut led his ships up the Mississippi River past the Confederate defenses at Fort St. Philip, Mississippi was the third in Farraguts first division, with Dewey at the helm. The first division kept near the west bank where the current was weaker and the water deeper, Dewey steered Mississippi through shallow water where he expected to run aground any moment

28.
Admiral of the Navy (United States)
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The Admiral of the Navy is the highest possible military rank in the United States Navy. The rank is intended as an admiralissimo type position which is senior to the rank of fleet admiral, the rank has only been awarded once, to George Dewey, in recognition of his victory at Manila Bay in 1898. The United States Congress authorized a single officer to hold the rank of admiral, by a Congressional Act of March 24,1903, Deweys rank was established as Admiral of the Navy, effective retroactive to March 1899. It was further specified that this rank was senior to the rank of admiral and was equal to admiral of the fleet in the British Royal Navy. The rank lapsed with the death of Admiral Dewey on January 16,1917, in 1944, upon the establishment of the five-star fleet admiral rank, the Navy stated that Deweys rank was senior but did not officially state it was a six-star rank. As George Dewey had been deceased for nearly thirty years, no comparison between his rank and that of admiral was made until 1945. The response to Congress stated, Should an officer of the Air Force or Navy be promoted to six-star rank, while the Institute did not specifically mention the rank of Admiral of the Navy, a prototype shoulder board for a Navy six-star admiral was designed in sketch. This image was made available through the Naval History and Heritage Command. The insignia did not address the sleeve insignia for such a rank and only provided details for the shoulder boards typically worn on summer

29.
William D. Leahy
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Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy was an American naval officer who served as the senior-most United States military officer on active duty during World War II. He held multiple titles and was at the center of all the military decisions the United States made in World War II. As Chief of Naval Operations from 1937 to 1939, he was the officer in the navy. After retiring from the navy, he was appointed in 1939 by his close friend President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Governor of Puerto Rico. In his most controversial role, he served as the United States Ambassador to France 1940–42, Leahy was recalled to active duty as the personal Chief of Staff to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 and served in that position throughout World War II. He chaired the Chiefs of Staff and was a major decision-maker during the war and he continued under President Harry S. Truman until finally retiring in 1949. From 1942 until his retirement in 1949, he was the member of the U. S. military. As Fleet Admiral, Leahy was the first U. S. naval officer ever to hold a rank in the U. S. The USS Leahy was named in his honor, from an Irish-American family, Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, and moved with his parents to Ashland, Wisconsin, as a child. His father Michael Arthur Leahy was a lawyer and Civil War veteran. However, he attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating 14th in his class of 47 in 1897, midshipman Leahy was assigned to USS Oregon, then in the Pacific. This was the only battle Leahy ever saw in person, having completed the two years of sea duty then required by law, Leahy was commissioned Ensign on July 1,1899. At that time, he was on the Asiatic Station, where, during the Philippine–American War and he returned to the United States in 1902 and became a member of the Military Order of the Dragon. For the next five years, he did duty on board the training ship USS Pensacola, Tacoma and Boston and his first shore duty was at the Naval Academy. Beginning in 1907, he served as instructor in the Department of Physics and he went to sea in 1909 and served as navigator of the armored cruiser California in the Pacific Fleet. On October 18,1911, Lt. Cmdr. Leahy served as aide to President William Howard Taft, at the laying of the keel of USS Jupiter. During the American Occupation of Nicaragua in 1912, he was Chief of Staff to the Commander, late in 1912, he came ashore in Washington as Assistant Director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competitions. In 1913, he was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation as a detail officer and he was in that assignment in early 1917 in West Indian waters and had additional duty as Senior Aide on the Staff of Commander Squadron Three of the Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet

30.
Ernest King
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Ernest Joseph King was Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the United States Navys operations, planning and he was the U. S. Navys second most senior officer after Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, and the second admiral to be promoted to five star rank. Historian Michael Gannon blamed King for the heavy American losses during the Second Happy Time, others however blamed the belated institution of a convoy system, partly due to a severe shortage of suitable escort vessels, without which convoys were seen as more vulnerable than lone ships. King was born in Lorain, Ohio, on 23 November 1878 and he attended the United States Naval Academy from 1897 until 1901, graduating fourth in his class. During his senior year at the Academy, he attained the rank of Midshipman Lieutenant Commander, while still at the Academy, he served on the USS San Francisco during the Spanish–American War. After graduation, he served as an officer on the survey ship USS Eagle, the battleships USS Illinois, USS Alabama and USS New Hampshire. King returned to duty at Annapolis in 1912. He received his first command, the destroyer USS Terry in 1914 and he then moved on to a more modern ship, USS Cassin. During World War I he served on the staff of Vice Admiral Henry T. Mayo, as such, he was a frequent visitor to the Royal Navy and occasionally saw action as an observer on board British ships. It appears that his Anglophobia developed during this period, although the reasons are unclear and he was awarded the Navy Cross for distinguished service in the line of his profession as assistant chief of staff of the Atlantic Fleet. It was after World War I that King affected his signature manner of wearing his uniform, officers serving alongside the Royal Navy did this in emulation of Admiral David Beatty, RN. King was the last to continue, after the war, King, now a captain, became head of the Naval Postgraduate School. Along with Captains Dudley Wright Knox and William S. Pye, King prepared a report on naval training that recommended changes to naval training, most of the reports recommendations were accepted and became policy. Before World War I he served in the surface fleet, from 1923 to 1925, he held several posts associated with submarines. As a junior captain, the best sea command he was able to secure in 1921 was the store ship USS Bridge, the relatively new submarine force offered the prospect of advancement. King attended a training course at the Naval Submarine Base New London before taking command of a submarine division. He never earned his Submarine Warfare insignia, although he did propose, in 1923, he took over command of the Submarine Base itself. During this period, he directed the salvage of USS S-51, in 1926, Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, asked King if he would consider a transfer to naval aviation

31.
Chester W. Nimitz
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Chester William Nimitz was a fleet admiral of the United States Navy. Nimitz was the leading U. S. Navy authority on submarines. S, the chief of the Navys Bureau of Navigation in 1939, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral and his frail, rheumatic father had died six months earlier, on August 14,1884. The best way to get along with either is to all you can, then do your best. His grandfather became a Texas Ranger in the Texas Mounted Volunteers in 1851 and he then served as captain of the Gillespie Rifles Company in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Originally, Nimitz applied to West Point in hopes of becoming an Army officer and his congressman, James L. Slayden, told him that he had one appointment available for the United States Naval Academy and that he would award it to the best qualified candidate. Nimitz felt that this was his opportunity for further education. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Texass 12th congressional district in 1901, Nimitz joined the battleship Ohio at San Francisco, and cruised on her to the Far East. In September 1906, he was transferred to the cruiser Baltimore, on January 31,1907, remaining on Asiatic Station in 1907, he successively served on the gunboat Panay, destroyer Decatur, and cruiser Denver. The destroyer Decatur ran aground on a bar in the Philippines on July 7,1908 while under the command of Ensign Nimitz. The ship was pulled free the next day, and Nimitz was court-martialed, found guilty of neglect of duty, and issued a letter of reprimand. Nimitz returned to the United States on board USS Ranger when that vessel was converted to a school ship, in May of that year, he was given command of the flotilla, with additional duty in command of USS Plunger, later renamed A-1. He commanded USS Snapper when that submarine was commissioned on February 2,1910, in the latter command, he had additional duty from October 10,1911 as Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. On the monitor Tonopah on March 20,1912, he rescued Fireman Second Class W. J. Walsh from drowning, receiving a Silver Lifesaving Medal for his action. In the summer of 1913, Nimitz studied engines at the diesel engine plants in Nuremberg, Germany, returning to the New York Navy Yard, he became executive and engineer officer of Maumee at her commissioning on October 23,1916. Under his supervision, Maumee conducted the first-ever underway refuelings, on August 10,1917, Nimitz became aide to Rear Admiral Samuel S. Robison, Commander, Submarine Force, U. S. On February 6,1918, Nimitz was appointed chief of staff and was awarded a Letter of Commendation for meritorious service as COMSUBLANTs chief of staff. On September 16, he reported to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, from May 1919 to June 1920, he served as executive officer of the battleship South Carolina

32.
William Halsey Jr.
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William Frederick Halsey Jr. GBE, known as Bill Halsey or Bull Halsey, was an American fleet admiral in the United States Navy. At the start of the War in the Pacific Halsey commanded the task force centered on the carrier Enterprise in a series of raids against Japanese-held targets. He was made commander, South Pacific Area and led the Allied forces over the course of the Battle for Guadalcanal, in 1943 he was made commander of the Third Fleet, the post he held through the rest of the war. Halsey was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on October 30,1882 and his father was a descendant of Senator Rufus King, who was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat, and Federalist. After waiting two years to receive an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, Halsey decided to study medicine at the University of Virginia and he chose Virginia because his best friend, Karl Osterhause, was there. While there, Halsey joined the Delta Psi fraternity and was also a member of the secretive Seven Society, after his first year, Halsey received his appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, and entered the Academy in the fall of 1900. Halsey graduated from the Naval Academy on February 2,1904, after lettering in football as a fullback and earning several athletic honors. He spent his service years in battleships and sailed with the main battle fleet aboard the battleship USS Kansas as Roosevelts Great White Fleet circumnavigated the globe from 1907 to 1909. Halsey was on the bridge of the battleship USS Missouri on Wednesday, April 13,1904, No explosion occurred, but the rapid burning of the powder burnt and suffocated to death 31 officers and men. This resulted in Halsey dreading the 13th of every month, especially when it fell on a Friday, after his service on the Missouri, Halsey served aboard torpedo boats, beginning with USS Du Pont in 1909. Halsey was one of the few officers who was promoted directly from Ensign to full lieutenant, at that time, the destroyer and the torpedo boat, though extremely hazardous, were the most effective way to bring the torpedo into combat against capital ships. Lieutenant Commander Halseys World War I service, including command of USS Shaw in 1918, in October 1922, he was the naval attaché at the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany. One year later, he was given additional duty as naval attaché at the American Embassies in Christiana, Norway, Copenhagen, Denmark and he then returned to sea duty, again in destroyers in European waters, in command of USS Dale and USS Osborne. In 1934 the chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Admiral Ernest King, offered Halsey command of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, Captain Halsey elected to enroll as a cadet for the full 12-week Naval Aviator course rather than the simpler Naval Aviation Observer program. I thought it better to be able to fly the aircraft itself than to just sit back and be at the mercy of the pilot. Halsey earned his Naval Aviators Wings on May 15,1935, at the age of 52 and he went on to command the Saratoga, and later the Naval Air Station Pensacola at Pensacola, Florida. Halsey considered airpower an important part of the navy, commenting, The naval officer in the next war had better know his aviation. Captain Halsey was promoted to admiral in 1938

33.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

34.
One-star rank
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An officer of one-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-6. The term is used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, one-star officers hold the rank of commodore, flotilla admiral, brigadier general, brigadier, or in the case of air forces with a separate rank structure. Officers of one-star rank are either the most junior of the flag, general and air officer ranks, specifically, in many navies, one-star officers are not considered to be flag officers, although this is not always the case. The army and air force rank of general is, by definition. However, the equivalent rank of brigadier is usually not designated as a general officer, the air force rank of air commodore is always considered to be an air-officer rank. Edwards crown and crossed sabre and baton, before unification in 1968, the rank of air commodore was the one-star rank equivalent for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and brigadier for the Canadian Army. Ranks and insignia of NATO Two-star rank

35.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

36.
Commodore (United States)
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Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy. For over two centuries, the designation has been varying levels of authority and formality. Because the U. S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four officer ranks in the navy until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the title of commodore. Like its Royal Navy counterpart at the time, the U. S. Navy commodore was not a higher rank, an American commodore in the early period, like an English commodore or a French chef descadre, was an officer assigned temporary command of more than one ship. He continued his permanent or regular rank during the assignment, once employed as a commodore, however, many jealously held onto the impressive title after their qualifying assignment ended. The Navy Department tried to discourage such continuing usage because it led to confusion, in 1857, Congress established the grade of flag officer. This generic title was intended to promote the efficiency of the Navy, like the courtesy-title commodores, flag officers reverted to captain once their squadron command assignment was completed. Because of the acute need for officers at the beginning of the American Civil War, naval tradition was ignored, eighteen commodores were authorized on July 16,1862. The rank of commodore continued in the Navy until March 3,1899, in short, U. S. Navy commodores were not being treated as flag officers by other navies, or given the respect that the Navy Department thought was their due. If there were an odd number of admirals, the lower half of the list was to be the larger. The U. S. Supreme Court later held that the rank of commodore had been removed from the U. S. Navy and this act disgruntled all the brigadier generals, who could now be outranked by officers who were their juniors in terms of service. This was a point of controversy for many years, especially after 1916. Thus the two-star rank of admiral was now equal to that of major general. The COMINCH of the U. S. Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest J. King, president Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, making the suggestion that the title be revived. As a result, the officer rank for the U. S. Navy. In actual practice, some officers on admirals staffs were also promoted to the rank of commodore, by the end of the War in the Pacific in August 1945, there were over 100 commodores in the U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard. After World War II, and with the drawdown in size of both the Navy and the Coast Guard, very few of the wartime commodores were ever promoted to rear admiral. All promotions to commodore ceased in 1947, and nearly all of the commodores who had held the rank had either been promoted to rear admiral or had retired from the Navy by 1950

37.
Chief of Naval Operations
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The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior naval officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is an adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy. The current Chief of Naval Operations is Admiral John M. Richardson, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO also designates naval personnel and naval resources to the commanders of Unified Combatant Commands. The CNO also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §5033, the CNO is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Navy unless the Chairman and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are naval officers. Like the other joint chiefs, the CNO is a position and has no operational command authority over United States naval forces. The Chief of Naval Operations is nominated by the President for appointment, however, the president may waive those requirements if he determines that appointing the officer is necessary for the national interest. By statute, the CNO is appointed as a four-star admiral, number One Observatory Circle, located on the northeast grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations liked the house so much that in 1923 he took over the house as his own official residence and it remained the residence of the CNO until 1974, when Congress authorized its transformation to an official residence for the Vice President. The Chief of Naval Operations currently resides in Quarters A in the Washington Naval Yard, the position of CNO replaced the position of Aide for Naval Operations, which was a position established by regulation rather than statutory law. Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy, archived from the original on 18 December 2007

38.
Commandant of the Coast Guard
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The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the U. S. Coast Guard. The Commandant is an admiral, appointed for a term by the President of the United States upon confirmation by the United States Senate. The Commandant is assisted by a Vice Commandant, who is also an admiral, the Commandant is also the only service chief who maintains operational command over their service. The Commandant reports to the President, via the Secretary of Homeland Security, the title of Commandant dates to a 1923 act that distributed the commissioned line and engineer officers of the U. S. Coast Guard in grades. Before 1923, the rank and title of the head of the Coast Guard was captain-commandant, the rank captain-commandant originated in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1908. The original holder of that rank was the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service, the Coast Guard traces the lineage of Commandants back to Captain Leonard G. Shepard, chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau, even though he never officially received the title of Captain-Commandant. The Captain-Commandant position was created in 1908 when Captain Worth G. Ross was the first to hold the position. Although he was retired, Rosss predecessor, Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, was elevated to the rank of Captain-Commandant, shoemakers predecessor, Captain Shepard, had already died and was not elevated to the rank. Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau, Captain Alexander V. N. Broughton Devereux, 1869–1871 Sumner I. This includes Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, the current Commandant, Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Footnotes Citations References cited Commandants official website

39.
Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard
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The Vice Commandant serves as the second-in-command of the United States Coast Guard. Since 1929,28 officers have served as Vice Commandant, or, as the position was referred to before 1972, the title of the position was changed effective October 2,1972, pursuant to Pub. L. This position has been held by a vice admiral until the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 elevated the statutory rank for the position to admiral. Commandant of the Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vice Commandants of the Coast Guard Vice Commandants official website

40.
United States Assistant Secretary for Health
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The ASH is a civilian or a uniformed member of the regular corps and is nominated for appointment by the President. The nominee must also be confirmed by the Senate, the ASH serves a four-year term of office at the pleasure of the President. If the appointee is a member of the regular corps. The President may also nominate a civilian appointee to also be appointed a commission into the regular corps if the nominee so chooses. As such the position of ASH is the office in the PHS that merits a four-star grade in the regular corps. The current Acting Assistant Secretary for Health is Don Wright, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs was established on January 1,1967 following the Reorganization Plan No.3 of 1966. The plan allowed the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to restructure the Public Health Service to better public health. The office was renamed to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health following the Department of Education Organization Act in 1972, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

41.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is, by U. S. The post of a statutory and permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff chair was created by the 1949 amendments to the National Security Act of 1947, the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act elevated the Chairman from the first among equals to becoming the principal military advisor to the President and Secretary of Defense. The National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate, the Goldwater-Nichols Act places the chain of command from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands. However the services chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources, the Chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the President and Secretary of Defense as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. He also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §153 or allocates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in the joint staff under his name. The principal deputy to the Chairman is the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, another 4-star general or admiral, who among many duties chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is assisted by the Joint Staff, led by the Director of the Joint Staff, the National Military Command Center is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief from July 20,1942 to March 21,1949. He presided over meetings of what was called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman is nominated by the President for appointment and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. The Chairman and Vice Chairman may not be members of the armed force service branch. However, the President may waive that restriction for a period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. However, in a time of war or national emergency, there is no limit to how many times an officer can be reappointed to serve as Chairman, historically, the Chairman has served two terms. By statute, the Chairman is appointed as a general or admiral while holding office. All pay for officers, however, is limited by Level II of the Executive Schedule which is $15,125.10.1, Functions of the Department of Defense. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 Functions of the Department of Defense, office of the Secretary Defense, Director of Administration and Management, Directorate for Organizational & Management Planning. Official Joint Chiefs of Staff site

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Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The Vice Chairman outranks all respective heads of each service branch, with the exception of the Chairman, but does not have operational command authority over their service branches. The Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986 created the position of VJCS to assist the Chairman in exercising his duties, the chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands. The Vice Chairman is nominated by the President for appointment and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate, the Chairman and Vice Chairman may not be members of the same armed force service branch. However, the President may waive that restriction for a period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. The Vice Chairman serves a term of office at the pleasure of the President. In case of times of war or national emergency, there is no limit to how many times an officer can be reappointed to serve as Vice Chairman, historically, the Vice Chairman has served two terms. By statute, the Vice Chairman is appointed as a general or admiral. Centered on the flag is an American bald eagle with wings spread horizontally, the talons grasp three crossed arrows. A shield with blue chief and thirteen red and white stripes is on the eagle’s breast, diagonally, from upper fly to lower hoist are four five-pointed stars, medium blue on the white, two above the eagle, and two below. The fringe is yellow, the cord and tassels are medium blue, the design was approved by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger on 20 January 1987. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Defense Acquisition Board Deputys Advisory Working Group, Joint Requirements Oversight Council Official site

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Unified combatant command
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A unified combatant command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide command and control of U. S. military forces, regardless of branch of service, in peace. They are organized either on a basis or on a functional basis, such as special operations, power projection. UCCs are joint commands with specific badges denoting their affiliation, the creation and organization of the unified combatant commands is legally mandated in Title 10, U. S. Code Sections 161–168. The Unified Command Plan is updated annually in conjunction with the DoD fiscal year, as of September 2011, there are nine unified combatant commands as specified in Title 10 and the latest annual UCP. Six have regional responsibilities, and three have functional responsibilities, each time the Unified Command Plan is updated, the organization of the combatant commands is reviewed for military efficiency and effectiveness, as well as alignment with national policy. Each unified command is led by a combatant commander, who is a general or admiral. The chain of command for operational purposes goes from the President through the Secretary of Defense to the combatant commanders, in the European Theater, Allied military forces fell under the command of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. After SHAEF was dissolved at the end of the war, the American forces were unified under a single command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued to advocate in favor of establishing permanent unified commands, and President Harry S. Truman approved the first plan on 14 December 1946. Known as the Outline Command Plan, it would become the first in a series of Unified Command Plans, the original Outline Command Plan of 1946 established seven unified commands, Far East Command, Pacific Command, Alaskan Command, Northeast Command, the U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Caribbean Command, and European Command, however, on 5 August 1947, the CNO recommended instead that CINCLANTFLT be established as a fully unified commander under the broader title of Commander in Chief, Atlantic. The Army and Air Force objected, and CINCLANTFLT was activated as a command on 1 November 1947. A few days later, the CNO renewed his suggestion for the establishment of a unified Atlantic Command and this time his colleagues withdrew their objections, and on 1 December 1947, the U. S. Atlantic Command was created under the Commander in Chief, Atlantic, under the original plan, each of the unified commands operated with one of the service chiefs serving as an executive agent representing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This arrangement was formalized on 21 April 1948 as part of a paper titled the Function of the Armed Forces. Northeast Command were disestablished under the Unified Command Plan of 1956–57, CONAD itself was disestablished in 1975. Although not part of the plan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also created specified commands that had broad. Examples include the U. S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, like the unified commands, the specified commands reported directly to the JCS instead of their respective service chiefs

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United States Forces Korea
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United States Forces Korea is a sub-unified command of United States Pacific Command. Major USFK elements include Eighth U. S. Army, U. S. Air Forces Korea, U. S. Naval Forces Korea, U. S. Marine Forces Korea and it was established on 1 July 1957. USFK has Title 10 authority, which means that USFK is responsible for organizing, training and equipping U. S. forces on the Korean Peninsula so that forces are agile, adaptable and ready. The USFK mission also includes planning non-combatant evacuation operations to ensure that if the need arises, U. S. to this end, USFK conducts routine exercises to ensure that this process is effective, efficient and orderly. As such, USFK continues to support the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty, the UNC mission was to assist South Korea to repel the attack and restore international peace and security in Korea. Throughout the war,53 nations provided support to the UNC,16 nations provided combat forces, after three years of hostilities, the commanders of both sides signed the Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. Hostilities today are also deterred by this bi-national defense team that evolved from the multi-national UNC, established on 7 November 1978, the ROK-US Combined Forces Command is the warfighting headquarters. Its role is to deter, or defeat if necessary, outside aggression against the ROK, the following is a partial list of border incidents involving North Korea since the Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, ended large scale military action of the Korean War. Most of these took place near either the Korean Demilitarized Zone or the Northern Limit Line. This list includes engagements on land, air, and sea, many of the incidents occurring at sea are due to border disputes. The North claims jurisdiction over an area south of the disputed western maritime border. This is a fishing area, particularly for crabs. In addition, the North claims its territorial waters extend for 50 nautical miles from the coast, according to the 5 January 2011 Korea Herald, since July 1953 North Korea has violated the armistice 221 times, including 26 military attacks. May 1962, Private Larry Allen Abshier abandoned his post in South Korea in May 1962 when he away from his base. Larry Abshier was the first to defect, also in May 1962, Corporal Jerry Parrish crossed the DMZ into North Korea. Aug 1962, James Joseph Dresnok was a Private First Class with a U. S. Army unit along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Soon after his arrival, he found himself facing a court martial for forging signatures on paperwork that gave him permission to leave base, Dresnok was taken by train to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and interrogated. In South Korea, Jenkins was assigned to night patrols, as a result of fears that he would be transferred to combat duty in Vietnam, he grew depressed and anxious, and started drinking alcohol

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United States European Command
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The United States European Command is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Greenland, the Commander of the United States military EUCOM simultaneously serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe within NATO—an intergovernmental military alliance. During the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch, EUCOM controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base, prior to 1952, the title European Command referred to a single-service, United States Army command. The first unified command in the European area was established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 1 August 1952, European Command, it was established to provide unified command and authority over all U. S. forces in Europe. Prior to 1 August 1952, the U. S. Air Force, U. S. Navy, in line with the creation of the joint-service European Command, the Army command in Europe was redesignated U. S. Army Europe on 1 August 1952. The unified command structure was born of the need to address changes wrought not only by Americas rapid post-war demobilization, questions arose over the U. S. commitment to the defense of Western Europe against the Soviet Union. In 1949 the allies established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in 1952 the area of responsibility included continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North Africa and Turkey. The AOR was subsequently expanded to include Southwest Asia as far east as Iran, in early 1951, NATO established Allied Command Europe and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was called from retirement to become the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the United States sent massive reinforcements to Europe designed to deter the Soviet Union. From 1950 to 1953 United States military personnel in Europe grew from 120,000 to over 400,000, United States Air Forces in Europe grew from three groups with 35,000 personnel to eleven wings with 136,000 personnel. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean doubled to more than 40 warships, the Army activated the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg in 1952 and deployed it to Bad Tölz in November 1953 for unconventional warfare missions in the Soviet Bloc countries. To provide for national command within NATO and to control this build-up of forces. Because the senior United States commander would continue as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Eisenhower returned to the United States just as the new command was established. The first United States Commander-in-Chief Europe was General Matthew Ridgway, former commander of Eighth Army and his deputy was General Thomas T. Handy, commander of United States Army, Europe. Headquarters EUCOM initially shared the I. G, farben Building in Frankfurt, Germany, with Headquarters United States Army, Europe. By 1953 over 400,000 U. S. troops were stationed in Europe, in 1954, the headquarters moved to Camp des Loges, a French Army base west of Paris and a short distance from SHAPE. There, EUCOM prepared plans for the defense of Western Europe within the NATO framework against the Soviet Union, EUCOM used the Military Assistance Program to help its NATO partners build their military capabilities, including after 1955 the German Bundeswehr. In 1955, EUCOM established a Support Operations Command Europe, soon renamed Support Operations Task Force Europe for special operations missions, in 1961, EUCOM began operating an airborne command post, Operation Silk Purse

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Vice Chief of Naval Operations
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The current VCNO is Admiral William F. Moran. The senior leadership of the U. S, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the principal deputy of the Chief of Naval Operations. The VCNO may also perform other delegated duties that either the Secretary of the Navy or the CNO assigns to him or her, in the event that the CNO is absent or is unable to perform their duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. Within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, while there are several Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations of either three and two star rank, there is only one VCNO. The VCNO is appointed by the President of the United States, while there is not a fixed term nor a term limit in the statute, the historical precedent is that a Vice Chief of Naval Operations serves for a tenure of two to three years. The equivalent of the current VCNO position was called Assistant for Operations in 1915, in 1942 the title became Vice Chief of Naval Operations

Newly commissioned U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officers celebrate their new positions by throwing their midshipmen covers into the air as part of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2005 graduation and commissioning ceremony.

An American cartoon published in Judge, Feb. 6, 1897: Columbia (representing the American people) reaches out to the oppressed Cuba (the caption under the chained child reads "Spain's 16th Century methods") while Uncle Sam (representing the US government) sits blindfolded, refusing to see the atrocities or use his guns to intervene (cartoon by Grant E. Hamilton).